Do not take too lightly the influence a Russia job search can have on the effect of your adventure! For instance, you will experience the different immigration rules and practices, strange job application procedures, unfamiliar job candidate selection criteria and out of the ordinary management culture.

Most visits to Russia are trouble-free but you should be aware of the risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks, which could be against civilian targets, including places frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers like restaurants, hotels, clubs and shopping areas. Demonstrations and protests remain a concern throughout the country. In recent years, the Russian authorities have carried out a number of investigations and operations against terrorist networks. You should exercise a high level of security awareness and monitor local news broadcasts and consular messages. Ensure that your travel documents and visas are current, valid and secured in a safe place. Carry a photocopy of your travel documents in lieu of the originals. Maintain a low profile, vary times and routes of travel, and exercise caution while driving. Making local contacts quickly and seeking support from other expatriates will greatly increase your comfort and safety.

Time: The Russian Federation is divided into 11 time zones.

Kaliningrad: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Moscow, St Petersburg, Astrakhan: GMT + 3 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Izhevsk and Samara: GMT + 4 (GMT + 5 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Perm, Ekaterinburg, Surgut: GMT + 5 (GMT + 6 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Omsk and Novosibirsk: GMT + 6 (GMT + 7 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Abakan, Norilsk, Tura: GMT + 7 (GMT + 8 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Bratsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude: GMT + 8 (GMT + 9 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Mirnyy, Tynda, Yakutsk: GMT + 9 (GMT + 10 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk: GMT + 10 (GMT + 11 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Magadan, Chirskiy: GMT + 11 (GMT + 12 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Anadyr, Petropavlosk-Kamchatskiy: GMT + 12 (GMT + 13 from the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Telephone country code: 7

Internet country code: .ru

Annual vacation: Majority of Russians take annual vacations during school holidays, which are different in each province

Summer holidays – between Jul 1 and August 31

Autumn holidays - between Oct 27 and Nov 2

Christmas holidays - between Dec 22 and Jan 4 of next year

Winter holidays – between Feb 23 and Mar 1

Easter holidays – between Apr 6 and Apr 19

Public Holidays:

1-6 Jan - New Year

7 Jan - Russian Orthodox Christmas Day

23 Feb - Day of the Defenders of the Motherland

8 Mar - International Women's Day

1-2 May - Spring and Labor Day

9 May - Victory in Europe Day

12 Jun - Russia Day

4 Nov - National Unity Day

12 Dec - Constitution Day

Business Hours:

Offices - Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00

Banks - Mon-Fri 09:30-17:30

Stores - Mon-Sat 09:00-19:00. Most food shops are also open on Sunday. Department stores and supermarkets are open throughout lunchtime. Stores that are open 24 hours a day are becoming more common.

Background: Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose legitimacy is buttressed, in part, by carefully managed national elections, former President PUTIN's genuine popularity, and the prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.

Capital: Moscow

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast